EU Complaint on Bottom Gear Fishing
- November 16th, 2006
- Posted by 7thmin
European delegates to the recent regional fishing deliberations in Hobart have complained that too little was done about environmental destruction being caused by bottom gear fishing.
It said acceptance of those proposals would have meant an immediate freeze on the use of bottom gear at current levels, and better collection of information.
Some progress had been made, mainly to ensure sharing of data ahead of future discussion.
It considered not enough time was spent on core issues like the destructive bottom trawling, and too much on more “peripheral” issues like the Jack Mackerel fishery.
The Hobart gathering was a meeting of the Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) for the South Pacific, to consider management of non-tuna fish stocks.
The next RFMO meeting will be in Chile next may.
Concern about impacts of trawling the ocean floor has led to increased scientific attention in recent years, focused on alteration of biodiversity and habitat, through seabed disturbance, and through selective fishing practices with high mortality among species that are caught and discarded.
Picture: stock.schng